Eight charged in HBOS probe

Eight people have been charged in connection with business loans made through a high street bank worth £35 million. Police said the charges follow an investigation into corruption and other offences originating from the HBOS branch in Reading.

Two former senior managers from the Halifax Bank of Scotland (HBOS) are among eight people charged in connection with alleged fraudulent business loans made through a high street bank. Sue Patten, head of fraud at the CPS said:

Two former employees of HBOS, Lynden Scourfield and Mark Dobson, senior managers in Reading and Bishopsgate, have been charged with conspiracy to corrupt, contrary to the Criminal Law Act 1977.

Also charged as part of the same conspiracy to corrupt are David Mills and Michael Bancroft of Quayside Corporate Services (QCS), a turnaround consultancy.

All eight defendants will appear before Reading Magistrates' Court on January 18. One person remains on police bail in relation to the investigation.